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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23730610">What Friends?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganRosenberg/pseuds/MeganRosenberg'>MeganRosenberg</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rick and Morty</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bullying, Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Forced Drinking, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Rick, Protectiveness, Threats, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence, Underage Drinking, Violence, bullied morty smith, protective rick sanchez</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:35:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,438</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23730610</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganRosenberg/pseuds/MeganRosenberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Morty likes to think he doesn't care what the popular kids at school think of him and that he doesn't really need friends, but when two cool seniors invite him to hang out with them, he can't resist, even if it means ditching Rick. When the invite turns out to be a cruel prank, Morty is ashamed and embarrassed, while Rick is absolutely livid.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>188</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 1</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>"Hey, Morty!" An uncomfortably familiar voice shouted from down the hallway.</p><p>Morty grimaced and sucked in a small breath between his teeth as he shrunk down slightly, shoved his books into his locker and quickly slammed the door. He chose to pretend he didn't hear that.</p><p>"Morty!"</p><p>The voice continued as Morty grabbed his backpack and shrugged his arms into the straps turning and briskly walking down the hall away from the source of the voice. He didn't want to out-right run... but he sure as hell didn't want to walk slow enough to be caught.</p><p>"Morty stop! I'm fucking talking to you!" The voice shouted one last time, much closer now, as a large hand reached down and grabbed Morty by the shoulder.</p><p>Morty frowned, but let himself be turned around. Trying to leave at this point - after there was no way he could claim to have not heard him calling out would just make Ivan angry. Of course, Ivan always seemed to be angry with Morty, and Morty never really knew why. He did know, however, that ignoring the older boy was just going to make him more angry, and in that case, Morty would probably end up hurt.</p><p>"What do you want, Ivan?" Morty pouted, noticing Ivan's friend Theo was standing there too. Great. Maybe they'd shove him back and forth between each other, or steal his back pack and play keep away, ultimately running off with it and shoving in in the toilet. It was always disheartening to see the two of the operating as a pair.</p><p>They both looked amused as they smirked down at him... They both still looked practically six feet tall, as they always did. And they both looked like they had enough strength individually to beat Morty up with one hand tied behind their backs. They were seniors on the basketball team. 'Cool' kids who liked to be dicks to him seemingly just because he was small and awkward and weird.</p><p>"We need your help, Morty." Theo answered in a casual, friendly tone that was quite unusual for the boy who normally called Morty names and never said anything to him that wasn't purely hateful and rude. Theo also had a habit of shoving him viciously into the sides of lockers - sometimes even into lockers and then slamming and locking the doors behind him.</p><p>Morty scoffed, pulling his backpack straps up onto his shoulders and taking a small, hopefully un-noticed step back. "No you don't, Theo... Come on, man... It's Thursday... Can't you just wait and beat me up before the weekend so I don't have to come to school the next day with a black eye? Teachers ask me about it..." He added in a small whisper.</p><p>He hated having to make excuses about that. He also hated making excuses to his mom and dad, but fortunately he spent so much time with Rick that he barely even saw his parents half the time. Rick either didn't ask questions, or proposed propelling his bullies into space and letting them suffocate. Morty tried to avoid the subject with his grandfather.</p><p>"We're not gonna beat you up." Ivan laughed. "We really do need your help... You've got to ask Jessica out on a date. To the dance."</p><p>Morty felt his stomach do a flip at the mention of his long-time crush. "W-why? So she can say no? Wh-why do you want me to do that?" He looked nervously around, almost suspecting a third basketball player might be filming him from somewhere nearby, wanting to document this whole weird trick and share it with the whole school.</p><p>"We actually have a plan that involves her saying yes." Theo noted. "I know it sounds weird, but we're not kidding. We need you to cooperate, and if it works, we'll owe you one. And that's a big deal... Meet us at the basketball courts at 4:00."</p><p>Morty frowned. "It's three thirty now... J-just tell me..."</p><p>Ivan shook his head. "It's kind of a secret. But she'll say yes... Just meet us there. I promise it'll be worth it."</p><p>Morty frowned and exhaled loudly. How could he resist? It was Jessica... He hadn't planned on going to the dance. He really never went to them because he never had a date, or even friends... But if somehow Jessica was going to say yes, and Theo and Ivan had the secret magic plan to get it to happen? How could he say no?</p><p>"Come on, Morty..." Theo went on. "I know we haven't always gotten along great, but I think things are gonna turn around for you. We haven't really ever given you a chance. I'll admit that. But you're into really fuckin' awesome shit lately - like space travel and portals. You're actually kinda cool... I don't know that I'd feel as embarrassed to be seen talking to you now that you do all the science stuff - no offense."</p><p>Morty narrowed his eyes, but felt a small glimmer of hopefulness in his heart."R-really?" He frowned. That didn't sound right. Ivan and Theo had been bullying him all year. Ivan regularly beat him up and Theo was always pushing him in the hallway. They both called him names and he always saw them talking to girls, then the whole group would look his direction and start laughing.</p><p>"Really, Morty... It'd be cool to go to the dance as a group... You just have to meet us out there at the courts in a half an hour, and we'll explain. Some girls like science and space and all that shit. It's kind of in style right now... Being smart is cool, and stars and aliens and shit is even cooler. So will you meet us?" Theo smiled warmly, a look Morty had never seen directed at him before.</p><p>Morty felt a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Okay." He agreed. "See you out there..."</p><p>"Great." Ivan clapped Morty on the shoulder. "This is gonna be awesome. Thanks, Mort."</p><p>Morty laughed breathlessly, but didn't tell Ivan that 'Mort' was a fucking terrible nickname and he hated it. He was just kind of honored to have been given any nickname from one of the cool kids. Something other than the usual nicknames, like 'loser,' 'dumbass,' or 'runt.'</p><p>Morty raised his hand and waved slightly as Ivan and Theo walked off. They didn't see him do it, but somehow it felt appropriate. He wondered if they really did think the science stuff he was into was cool. Sure, Rick was actually the one to really do the science things. Morty kind of just followed him... But if science was becoming cool among teenagers, maybe Morty could pay more attention to everything Rick did, actually start understanding some of it, and make tons of friends.</p><p>He would invite them on the more tame adventures he and Rick went on, show them different planets, maybe even take them for drives through space. He knew how to drive the space-car Rick made now. Not that well, but well enough. If he didn't go too far, he could drive girls around in it. They'd think he was so cool. Maybe they'd kiss him. Maybe they would think kissing out in space with distant planets and moons and stars out the windows was romantic.</p><p>Surely there were easy science things Rick did that Morty could actually learn to do himself. He kind of understood the inter-dimensional cable box. Summer's friends seemed to think that was cool, so if Morty made friends, he could show them that... And then learn science and show them that too.</p><p>Until he learned more, he could fake it. Ivan and Theo associated him with science, and science was cool, apparently. It didn't matter just yet that Morty didn't actually do much besides accompany Rick on his scientific quests. Just the fact that Morty had been to space and to other planets and met alien creatures was pretty cool, and maybe he was finally going to get credit for it.</p><p>"Morty, there you are!" Rick's voice brought Morty out of his blissful thoughts as a green portal appeared in the middle of the hallway and Rick stepped through.</p><p>Morty audibly groaned as he frowned at Rick and looked nervously at other kids staring with curious raised eyebrows. Morty started to smile then. This might increase his cool-factor. No one else's grandpa showed up at school through a portal.</p><p>"Come on, Morty. We gotta go." Rick grabbed Morty's arm and started tugging him back toward the portal.</p><p>Morty frowned and shook his head, yanking his arm down out of Rick's grip. "No, Rick. I've got plans."</p><p>"Plans?" Rick scoffed, looking around the hallway and shrugging and he shook his head. "Like what, getting stuffed into a locker? Missing the damn bus again?"</p><p>"No." Morty scowled. "I'm doing something after school. I'm busy. Ask me first next time before you try to make plans that include me. I can't always just drop everything I'm doing and go with you every time you randomly decide you want to go somewhere. I have a life too."</p><p>Rick laughed and rolled his eyes. "Wow... Well, aren't you a busy kid all of a sudden... I don't think jerking it off counts as plans, Morty."</p><p>"Actually, I do have plans. Real ones with other people. I already told them I'd do it. I have plans to-" Morty started.</p><p>"Yeah, plans to whatever. Don't care about your dumb social life, Morty. You have to come with me. I'm not really asking. It's not optional this time. This is important." Rick insisted, reaching toward Morty's wrist again. "Rejuviberries are finally in-season again on the Mik-Mak planet and that's the planet that got blown up four-thousand years ago in most dimensions, so it's hard to even find one that still exists. The rejuviberries are ready, like now, and they're only ripe during a three-day window once every ten fucking years, so we need to go now, while we still can. We've got three days and one of those days is half over, because I had to wait for you to finish your school day. I hope whatever dumbass algebra and English literature bullshit you slept through today was worth it."</p><p>Morty frowned and pulled his arm back. "I'm meeting my friends. I already said I would. You didn't tell me about this until right now. I can't do it. Sorry."</p><p>"Friends?" Rick laughed, raising his eyebrow. "What fucking friends?"</p><p>Morty continued glaring, crossing his arms over his chest. "I do have friends, Rick. Cool ones. As a matter of fact, lots of people around here think I'm really awesome. That wasn't always the case, but I've been moving up in the social world. I'm going to the dance with a really cute girl, and her friends and their dates. Maybe no one cool liked you in high-school-"</p><p>"Nope." Rick cut him off, holding his hand up in front of Morty's face. "I'm not getting bullied by a fuckin' fourteen year old. First of all, I was the fuckin' coolest then, and I'm the coolest now. We've been over this. I always have been and always will be the most awesome motherfucker in any room I walk into. Second of all... What. Fucking. Friends?" He said again, laughing breathlessly. "You've never had friends at school... I've seen you invite kids over exactly zero times. You went to that one dance where you had to drug your date to get her to like you and you fuckin' destroyed the whole world. You're standing here alone right now... Are you hallucinating, Morty? You get into my special stash or...?"</p><p>Morty felt anger bubbling up inside him as he stared back at Rick. "I do have friends. Ivan and Theo. They're seniors and they play basketball, and they're really cool. They're gonna help me get a date with Jessica and we're all going to go to the dance together. Sorry if your stupid red juvenile berries don't get harvested in time, but I do have a fucking life, Rick. You need to stop being so dependent on me always doing whatever you want whenever you say." Morty held his head high, starting to feel a cockiness he wasn't sure he'd earned. "If you need my help so bad, you're just gonna have to wait. I don't put my life on hold for you anymore. I've got better things to do."</p><p>Morty felt his breath stick in his throat as he stared nervously at Rick, who looked back with a raised eyebrow, clearly a bit surprised that Morty decided to put up a boundary for once. He hoped he didn't make Rick too mad. Morty wanted to be taken seriously and respected, but it was so hard to get that kind of thing from Rick. Maybe impossible.</p><p>"Is that the same Ivan who punched you in the nose?" Rick stared. "Almost broke it."</p><p>Morty shook his head, then nodded and shrugged. "Well... Yeah, but that was like a month ago... It's old news. We're friends now."</p><p>"You came home crying." Rick frowned, looking legitimately worried.</p><p>Morty grimaced, for a moment fearing what Rick was probably fearing - that Ivan didn't really want to be friends. That this was all some elaborate joke, that Morty would meet him on the basketball court and Ivan would beat him up. Maybe his other friends would be secretly watching. Maybe Jessica would see it all and think Morty was a complete loser.</p><p>"You had a bloody nose and you were fucking crying." Rick glared. "You went upstairs real fast so no one would notice. Your mom and Summer didn't notice. Your dad pretended not to. I came up to give you an ice pack and you were sobbing in the bathroom like your cat just fucking died. Don't be fucking naive, Morty."</p><p>Morty shook his head. "That was a long time ago." He said again, his voice small as something in the back of his mind begged him to agree with Rick and just ditch Ivan and Theo. Was he being completely fucking stupid hoping they really did want to be friends this time? Was this dumb as hell?</p><p>"These kids aren't your friends, Morty." Rick insisted. "Not even trying to be an ass here, but they're not. You know they're not."</p><p>"They might be." Morty stared. "People change..."</p><p>"People like that don't change. They're fucking with you because you're small desperate for approval for some reason and they know they can take advantage of that. They know you won't fight back, you'll do whatever they want just for a chance to be seen as accepted, to feel accepted. They're banking on that - on you being an innocent, naive little dipshit, falling into their fucking trap." Rick explained in the most blunt way possible.</p><p>"Fuck off, Rick." Morty stuck his lower lip out and glared, balling his hands into fists. Maybe Rick was right... But he didn't have any right to actually say it. Rick should have had confidence that Morty was cool enough to make friends with the popular kids. "Go harvest your stupid fucking berries and leave me alone." Morty growled.</p><p>Rick rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Whatever. Call me when it all falls apart and you're ready to do shit that actually matters.."</p><p>Morty turned and started walking away as Rick made his way back into his portal. There was no fucking way Morty would call Rick now - no matter what happened.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm feeling ambitious and decided to update again like 12 hours later... Surprise!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 2</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>It was indeed a bit unsettling how nice Ivan and Theo were being to him, but Morty could barely let himself care. At this point, he wanted to hang out with them just to prove Rick wrong more than anything else. Of course, dating Jessica was definitely still a big part of it too... If this worked out, Morty would have a date with his dream girl. How could he pass on that chance? Even if Ivan and Theo beat him up, the possibility of getting a date with Jessica would make the whole ordeal worth it.</p><p>He met the two older boys on the basketball court as they'd suggested, only having to wait five dreadful minutes after four o' clock for them to show up. They were a very long five minutes though, filled with horrible thoughts that Rick had been right and that Theo and Ivan were setting him up, probably watching and laughing in the distance... But they weren't.</p><p>They showed up and they had a basketball and before saying anything about Jessica or the dance, they just kinda started playing, passing the ball to Morty a lot more than he would have preferred and being strangely complementary to his very flawed technique. They were actual basketball players, yet seemed very impressed every time Morty got even close to the net, which was definitely odd.</p><p>"Awesome shot, Mort!" Ivan called out when Morty threw the ball up toward the hoop and it just barely grazed the bottom of the net. "That was real fuckin' close!"</p><p>Morty breathed out a nervous breath as Ivan tossed the ball back to him. He felt like they were humoring him. Like he was a little kid incapable of actually making a shot and they wanted to boost his confidence. It was kind of insulting... Or maybe it wasn't. He wasn't sure if it was an entirely bad thing if that was what they were doing...</p><p>He was a lot younger than them. A lot smaller, a lot less good at sports. Maybe they did think he was cool - because of all the science stuff - and they expected him to suck at basketball, but they liked him and wanted to be nice about it. Maybe they kind of saw him as a younger brother - like they could be friends still, but they realized they were older, stronger, better at sports... They could be like mentors and friends. Like Rick, only closer to his own age and hopefully not as verbally abusive.</p><p>"So about Jessica..." Theo finally started, catching the ball and holding it after Morty tossed it to him. "I overheard her saying she's completely over dating and she never wants to date another boy again."</p><p>Morty felt his heart sink and his shoulders slump. How the hell did they think she was going to accept a date proposal from him then? It would have been hard enough to get her to say yes on a normal day.</p><p>"I think she'll go with you though, Morty." Theo went on. "You're the least-threatening guy in the school."</p><p>"Um... Th-thanks?" Morty frowned.</p><p>Theo smiled a charming, popular-basketball-player grin. "I'm just saying... She's used to dating these confident, big, outgoing jocks. She's tired of dating because she's tired of dating them and people like them. When she said she's tired of dating boys, she didn't mean boys like you. You're practically a different species... in a good way."</p><p>Morty frowned and looked down. Were they making fun of him? He wasn't sure how to take this.</p><p>"It's complicated, Morty, but we think you might be the only person who she might say yes to." Ivan cut in. "And we need her to say yes to someone."</p><p>Morty looked up."What do you mean? Why do you want her to go with me?" He wondered.</p><p>"Well, I do think we should start being friends just because you've got the potential to be cool... because of the science stuff. It's like on-trend now for girls to be science nerds." Ivan laughed. "So you'll help attract hot scientist-chicks to our group. But we also need someone to date Jessica because her friend Maria probably won't go to the dance if she doesn't."</p><p>"Oh..." Morty nodded. "So one of you wants to date Maria."</p><p>"I do." Ivan noted. "And Theo wants to date her sister, who can't date unless Maria does."</p><p>Morty narrowed his eyes. That sounded really familiar. "Isn't that the plot of a nineties movie?"</p><p>"I dunno... So do you think you can help us?" Theo smiled hopefully. "I really do think Jessica will say yes to you. She's so tired of assertive jocks... You're like the opposite of what she's sick of. She won't feel at all threatened by you. She'll feel like she's in charge, which I'm sure you wouldn't mind."</p><p>Morty stared passed Theo's shoulder at the basketball hoop net. It was kind of the shape of the skirts Jessica wore. He smiled slightly, thinking about dating Jessica, about her feeling like Morty wasn't like all the other boys she dated... She might accept the date thinking he'd just be a change from what she was sick of, and realize halfway through the night that she actually loved him and wanted to marry him.</p><p>"So?" Ivan's voice snapped Morty back to the present. "Will you ask her?"</p><p>Morty breathed out a small breath, swallowed nervously, and nodded. "Yeah." He squeaked, feeling nervous even saying it. Asking her was going to be scary... She might still say no, regardless of Theo and Ivan's theory... But she might say yes too, and he could never know if he didn't try.</p><p>"Great!" Theo grinned. He tossed the ball to Ivan, who effortlessly threw it straight into the basket. "I got something fun we can do now that that's sorted out..." Theo noted, walking over to a back pack he had thrown down next to Morty's on the sidelines and unzipping it.</p><p>Morty watched as the older boy took a glass bottle filled with clear liquid out of his bag. It looked like alcohol - like the strong stuff... Stuff Rick poured into orange juice, or just drank straight down when he was really stressed. It didn't seem to take that much to get even Rick drunk off of stuff like that.</p><p>Ivan followed Theo toward the bleachers and sat down with him, taking the bottle in his hand and tilting it up toward his mouth, taking a drink, making a strange face, and then laughing. "That's fuckin' strong." He laughed. "Come on, Mort!" He waved Morty over.</p><p>Morty stared with wide eyes, but forced a smile and walked over. He couldn't decline. They'd think he was a loser... And if they liked him because of science stuff, what they really liked was Rick... and Rick drank a lot. Maybe most scientists did. Maybe if Morty wanted to fit in, he should at least give off a vibe that he liked to drink, even if he really didn't.</p><p>Morty cautiously took the bottle and frowned down at it, then tilted it slowly up toward his lips and took a small sip. At least, he tried to just take a small one. As he was slowly angling it, Ivan grabbed the bottle and tilted it up quickly, causing a lot more alcohol than Morty had planned on to spill into his mouth.</p><p>Morty felt his eyes watering as he tried to just swallow it all - to be cool - but failed, rather immediately coughing and sputtering as he handed the bottle back to Ivan and tried to catch his breath.</p><p>"You ever had this before?" Theo laughed as he stared down at Morty.</p><p>Morty shook his head, still unable to really speak as he struggled to regain his breath. He was still coughing. A lot of the alcohol had gone into his mouth, a lot had gone down his throat... and he felt like some of it somehow made it into his nose. It actually burned. He felt like he had just breathed in actual fire.</p><p>"Take another drink." Theo suggested, pushing the bottle toward Morty. "You barely got any that time. And trust me, it gets easier and easier the more you drink. I know it's kinda strong, but seriously... Take like four shots of this, and you don't even fucking taste the fifth, six, and seventh ones." He laughed.</p><p>"Th-that's okay..." Morty shook his head, raising his hand up in front of himself and gently pushing the bottle away.</p><p>Theo frowned and grabbed Morty's arm, pushing it down as he shoved the bottle toward Morty's lips. "Take another drink." He demanded.</p><p>Morty blinked, feeling honestly nervous by how angry Theo looked. He looked over the boy's shoulder toward Ivan, who also didn't look too pleased. Were they really mad that he didn't want to drink? They were still at school. It had only just started to get dark. A teacher might even see this at this point.</p><p>"Come on. Don't be a loser." Theo suggested, pressing the bottle up to Morty's lips.</p><p>Morty turned his head, breathing out a small breath. "Theo... I-" He hesitated. He wanted to fit in. He wanted them to like him... But the alcohol actually hurt. So did Theo's hand wrapped around his arm. Morty looked down at it, feeling his heart sink. Maybe Rick was 100% right on this. They were setting him up. It was a joke. They were going to make him drink, get him drunk... Then maybe leave so Morty couldn't get home without calling Rick - which he definitely didn't want to do... He couldn't call either of his parents either, and really didn't want to call Summer.</p><p>He didn't want to get drunk... And if they left him here, especially after forcing him to drink, he would have to try to call someone. He couldn't get all the way home by walking. It was pretty far... and if he was drunk, he might get lost. Morty hadn't ever been drunk before - not like debilitating, stumbling, slurring, falling down-drunk. What if he stumbled into the street and got run over? Or even what if he just walked down the sidewalk, appeared drunk, and a cop stopped him! Could he go to jail? Like juvie?</p><p>"Drink. Now." Theo demanded, squeezing his hand tighter around Morty's forearm and pressing the bottle up against his lips.</p><p>"Theo, stop!" Morty said in a small voice, grimacing as he turned his head and shrunk back. "I don't want to... It's Thursday... I- I don't want a... like a hangover tomorrow..." He made an excuse they might hopefully understand - one which implied that he had done this before and that he had rules surrounding drinking - logical ones, not loser-ones.</p><p>"Morty..." Theo started, squeezing even harder with his hand around Morty's arm and tugging him rather roughly forward as he pushed the bottle back up toward his face. "You gotta do this. Prove you're not a fuckin' loser."</p><p>Morty stared silently at Theo for a moment, glancing over toward Ivan, who smirked back at him. The longer this went on, the more sure he was that these boys never truly did want to be his friend. This had been a setup the whole time. There was no way drinking alcohol was this big of a deal to them. They wanted him drunk so they could do something mean. Why else would they demand it?</p><p>"Come on, Mort. It's fun." Ivan laughed as Theo still held the bottle close to Morty's lips, silently waiting on Morty to go along with this.</p><p>"No." Morty finally breathed. "N-no thanks... You guys can have it..."</p><p>Theo scowled at him as he drew the bottle back.</p><p>Morty swallowed nervously. "I still want to be friends..." He breathed. "Y-you know... It's like a school night, and the alcohol is really strong. N-not to be like a loser, b-but I kinda just don't like that stuff too... Theo, it's so strong. It kinda hurts." He laughed breathlessly.</p><p>"You know what else hurts?" Ivan noted, standing up to his full height and stepping toward Morty, who felt very, very short now that Ivan was standing so menacingly, staring down at him.</p><p>Morty stared wide-eyed up at him, but couldn't bring himself to speak or move until Ivan balled his hand into a fist and slammed it down against Morty's ribs.</p><p>Immediately, Morty let himself fall down to the ground, whimpering and holding his hands over his stomach. He could barely even breathe, couldn't get himself to speak, and felt tears filling his eyes.</p><p>"Fuckin' loser!" Ivan growled, grabbing Morty's arm and dragging him back up, holding him there this time as he punched the smaller boy in the stomach again.</p><p>"Stop it!" Morty cried, trying to pull his arm free as he attempted to shield his stomach with his other hand.</p><p>He could hear Theo laughing from beside him, then felt the older boy's hands on his upper arms, holding him back while Ivan hit him again, and again.</p><p>"Please, stop!" Morty gasped, doubling over as soon as Theo let go of him. He sunk to his knees, kept his eyes squeezed shut, and made himself as small as he could, hugging his arms around himself and failing to keep his tears from falling.</p><p>Rick had been right. Of course he had. Morty knew it was well as Rick did, the whole time. Theo and Ivan weren't ever going to actually be his friends. The whole time, they were planning something cruel, and though Morty wasn't as cooperative as they'd hoped, they clearly had a backup plan - to just beat him up.</p><p>Morty should have known... He did know. He let his stupid naivety get the better of him. Again. Just like Rick said...</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 3</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>Morty choked out a pained breath as he held his arms over his abdomen where Ivan had hit him. He hoped his ribs weren't broken. Ivan was really strong, and his punches hurt - a lot.</p><p>He felt like he could barely breathe. His vision spun a little, even though he had hardly had anything to drink. He even felt a little bit like he might throw up. Maybe just being hit so hard three times was enough to disorient him. As Morty struggled to get his breathing back in order and to keep from loudly and embarrassingly sobbing in pain, he noticed Ivan closing back in on him.</p><p>"Ivan, don't!" Morty choked, shrinking back and shielding himself with his arms as Ivan reached down toward him. The older boy grabbed his arm and pulled him back up to his feet, only to immediately shove him hard toward the ground. Morty landed painfully, not even bothering to try to stand up. Ivan would probably just push him back down again.</p><p>Morty curled himself into a ball, shielding his face and head with his hands as best as he could when he felt feet kicking him on his back and chest. He wasn't sure whose feet... maybe both of the older boys. It certainly felt like a lot of kicks in a short time. The kicks hit his arms and legs when as he made himself as small as possible. It protected all the most important parts of him from being injured, but it still really, really hurt.</p><p>"Stop!" Morty whimpered. "...I'll drink it! Guys, I'll j-just drink it, okay? Please!" He choked painfully. "I-I'll drink it... J-just stop! Please stop!"</p><p>He heard laughter, then felt hands on his arms, dragging him up, pulling him along toward the side of the building, then slamming his back against the bricks. "You think this is all about you saying no to a drink?" Ivan smirked as he held Morty against the wall.</p><p>Morty groaned in pain from being kicked and punched in the stomach and stuck his lower lip out into a pout. "W-what?" He breathed.</p><p>"Did you really think Jessica would date you?" Theo laughed from the side.</p><p>Morty frowned and looked down. He did think she might. After they said she was tired of typical jock guys, a hopeful part of him wondered if she really was looking for a boy like Morty instead.</p><p>"Did you really think we wanted to be friends with you just because your grandpa does all that weird science shit? It's not cool, Morty. It's dumb and weird, and you don't even do it. He does." Theo went on.</p><p>"J-just let me go then... I w-won't ask her..." Morty's voice shook. He knew this was all too good to be true. Why was he so fucking naive, when it was obvious even to him the whole time? Morty knew better. He knew Rick was right about this, but he got stupid and cocky and believed it anyway. Why was he so fucking dumb?</p><p>"We knew you wouldn't ask her." Ivan laughed. "You stare at her, trying to build up the courage. I see you almost walk up to her and then lose your nerve all the damn time. I don't care if you fucking ask her. She's not gonna say yes. I don't give a shit what you do."</p><p>"Th-then what do you want?" Morty spoke in a low voice.</p><p>Ivan simply laughed as he stared silently down at him. Morty looked up toward Theo, who also wasn't answering. What did they want? Just to embarrass him and hurt him for no real reason?</p><p>"Hold him down, Ivan." Theo suggested, bringing the bottle of alcohol toward Morty again. "Open up." He demanded.</p><p>Morty shrunk down and shook his head. "No!" He breathed. If he let them get him drunk - especially now when they just flat out told him this had all been a trick - something horrible would happen. They'd leave him somewhere he was unfamiliar with, make him get lost, maybe arrested... He couldn't allow this to happen.</p><p>"Open up. Now. Or I'm going to hurt you." Theo growled.</p><p>Morty frowned and looked past Ivan and Theo, back toward the basketball court, then to either side. Everyone else had gone home. The school parking lot the juniors and seniors used was practically empty - except for Theo's and Ivan's cars. No one was going to help him... Even if there were other people here, still no one would probably help him. People tended to be selectively blind to things like this.</p><p>"Drink." Theo demanded again, pressing the bottle up to Morty's lips. "Open up. Now."</p><p>Morty shook his head, then whimpered softly when he saw anger flit across Theo's face as the older boy balled his hand into a fist and slammed it down hard against Morty's ribs, not once, not even twice, but three times.</p><p>Morty felt like his vision was clouded over by a thin, grey veil as he struggled to breathe. As he wheezed and squeezed his eyes shut, he felt a hand gripping a fist of his hair and holding his head back, then felt the cold glass bottle forced against his lips, spilling the awful, burning liquid into his mouth.</p><p>Coughing, Morty tried to reach his hands up to push the bottle away, but someone was holding them down. So he settled on spitting the alcohol back out, clearly angering one of the boys quite a bit of the very hard punch against the side of his head that followed was any indication.</p><p>Morty lay panting on the ground, curling himself into a ball and trying to stop himself from audibly sobbing. He was in a lot of pain, and felt disoriented from the amount of alcohol that had managed to get down his throat. Of course he also felt the emotional hurt and betrayal that always came along with someone pretending to be someone's friend as a cruel joke.</p><p>"Take off his pants." Theo's voice suggested from somewhere nearby.</p><p>Morty's eyes shot open when he felt hands on his hips. "Wh-what? N-no! Don't!" He shouted, grabbing desperately at the hands grabbing at his jeans and trying to push them away. "Don't touch me! Fucking stop!" Morty cried, thrashing and kicking. "Ivan, don't!"</p><p>"Stop moving." Ivan growled, ripping the button off of Morty's jeans and tearing the garment downward.</p><p>"Please, don't!" Morty sobbed, unable to keep himself from being outwardly upset any longer. He didn't want to actually cry in front of the older boys, but now he was more than hurt. He was completely terrified.</p><p>Theo grabbed his arms and held him down against the ground as Ivan wrestled his pants down his legs, pulling them, and his shoes off and tossing them to the side.</p><p>"Ivan, please!" Morty breathed, squeezing his eyes closed fearfully as he felt hands on his shirt next, pulling the garment up over his torso, easily ripping it off of him in one swift motion. "Stop! Please!" Morty sobbed, hugging his arms around his stomach and shivering once he was able.</p><p>"Bring the tape." Ivan spoke to Theo, completely ignoring Morty's pleas as he grabbed the younger boy by his arms and hauled him up off the ground, dragging him across the school's parking lot and toward the front of the building, where the main doors, bike rack, and flag pole were.</p><p>Morty felt that a small part of him was actually relieved when they just threw his clothes to the side and dragged him on to the next thing. For a moment, when they were pulling off his pants, pinning him to the ground... his mind took him to a very dark place. Ivan and Theo's taunts and threats had never been sexual in the past. They only ever shoved him, kicked him, hit him, knocked his books out of his hands, pushed him into lockers or spilled things on him... But why take off his pants?</p><p>In that moment, Morty feared the worst, but they didn't linger on it. Theo was holding him down. Ivan easily took his clothes. They could have done it if they wanted. They were both strong enough that it wouldn't have even been difficult for them. But they didn't even seem to think of it. That wasn't what they wanted, fortunately. Maybe they just wanted him to be cold and embarrassed. That completely fucking sucked, but compared to what he feared in that moment, it was preferable.</p><p>Morty was mostly compliant as Ivan dragged him over to the flag pole. It wasn't until Theo started pulling at a roll of duct tape and Ivan wrestled Morty's arms back around the pole and behind him that Morty started to panic again. They were going to tape him up to the pole? They were going to leave him here, practically naked? Taped to the flag pole? It was kind of cold out, and was only going to get colder. He didn't want to be stuck here for who knew how long...</p><p>"Stop!" Morty breathed, starting to struggle again, rather uselessly. "Ivan, no! Theo, stop! Don't do this!" He pleaded, trying to pull his arms away as Ivan held them down in a firm, painful grip and Theo wrapped a huge sum of tape around his wrists.</p><p>"Stop fucking moving." Ivan growled as he grabbed Morty's neck once his hands were secure.</p><p>Morty let out a small, choking breath, squeezing his eyes shut as Ivan squeezed his large hand around the younger boy's throat. Morty couldn't even reach up to try to stop him. His hands were secured firmly behind him. "Ivan-" Morty squeezed weakly."Stop... I ca-can't breathe..." He whispered.</p><p>Ivan let out a somewhat shaky breath as he stared angrily down at Morty and lessened his grip around Morty's neck. "Stop fighting back." He demanded in a low, almost growling voice.</p><p>Morty swallowed and held his breath as he stared up at Ivan, who glared right back. "W-why are you doing this?" Morty breathed.</p><p>Ivan smirked and shrugged. "Because we can, Morty... Because you're an embarrassment to yourself and to the school and you fucking deserve it."</p><p>Morty frowned and sniffed back tears. He didn't think he deserved it. Sure, he was kind of weird and awkward and people didn't seem to exactly like him... But he didn't do anything mean to anyone. He wasn't a bully or really very arrogant... He didn't deserve to be hurt and embarrassed. He didn't think so at least.</p><p>Ivan laughed, taking the bottle of alcohol from Theo and shoving the top up toward Morty's lips. "Now open that dumb little mouth and take a long, hard drink, or I'm gonna shove the end of this bottle up your ass. Make you drink it that way."</p><p>Morty felt his breath hitch in his throat as Ivan held the bottle up in front of his face. Would he really do that? Was he being literal? Was it even possible to shove a bottle up someone's butt? He certainly didn't want to find out.</p><p>"It'll fit, Morty." Theo laughed from behind him, walking around and staring down at Morty with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "And its a legit way to get drunk if you're into that sorta thing. I've seen videos of it on the internet."</p><p>"You have?" Morty stared with wide eyes and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "W-why? Wh-why would you watch that?"</p><p>"So we know what to do to little shits like you who don't fucking do what we say." Ivan glared back. "You better drink it - and don't spit it back up. If you don't want it broke off in your asshole, you fucking do what we say."</p><p>Morty swallowed as he stared with wide eyes down at the bottle in front of him. He didn't want them to do what they were threatening to do. That would hurt so fucking bad, and be so god damned embarrassing. He wondered if they really would try to do that if he just refused to drink it. Maybe they were bluffing, but it was kind of not something he wanted to risk.</p><p>"Open up." Ivan smirked, pressing the end up the bottle up against Morty's lips. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather drink it through my mouth." He laughed.</p><p>Morty felt his lip tremble as tears stung at his eyes, but he didn't seem to have a choice. It was either drink it, or be assaulted with it. So he opened his mouth, closed his eyes, and let Ivan pour the awful, burning liquid down his throat.</p><p>It was difficult not to choke the liquid right back up, but Morty kind of held his breath and forced himself to swallow as Ivan poured the burning, painful liquid into his mouth. After what felt like ages, the older boy finally tilted the bottle back up, leaving Morty gasping pained breaths as silent tears streamed down his cheeks.</p><p>Morty groaned an exhausted breath and let his head slump forward as he felt hands winding tape around his ankles. He wasn't even sure which of the older boys was doing which thing now. The other hands were wrapping tape around his stomach, securing him to the flag pole in yet another location. He was going to be really, really stuck here.</p><p>He wasn't sure how much they had forced him to drink, whether it was a dangerous amount or not... He knew it wasn't safe to binge-drink, especially not hard alcohol like what they'd forced on him. He hoped he didn't die from this... But he felt a little more coherent than maybe he would have if he were dangerously drunk. He wasn't passed out, wasn't vomiting... So it couldn't be that bad, right?</p><p>Morty let out a soft whimper as he felt one of his bullies grab his head, pressing it back and wrapping tape around his neck and the flag pole, further securing him to it, and also kind of almost choking him.</p><p>"Pl-" Morty coughed, closing his tired eyes. "Please st-" He breathed.</p><p>"Please what now? Stop?" Theo laughed, ripping the tape and securing the last bit of it around his neck, then clapping a hand over Morty's chest.</p><p>"I can't believe you thought we wanted to be friends with you." Ivan laughed. "Are you like legit fucking stupid? You remember all the times I've treated you like actual shit, right?"</p><p>Morty felt tears in his eyes, but refused to open them. He just wanted them to leave. If they were going to leave him here to be found by a faculty member tomorrow morning, he just wanted them to go - now.</p><p>"And you thought Jessica would actually go to the dance with you?" Theo noted. "She may see you as non-threatening, but damn... A fuckin' rat's non-threatening too. So is an actual fucking piece of dog shit. Non-threatening doesn't mean appealing. Just means you're nothing. You're shit. She's not gonna sink that low. You're tiny and dumb and weird-looking." He laughed. "Jesus Christ, Morty... Are you serious? You really thought she'd say yes to you?"</p><p>Morty felt himself shaking. It was cold. He also felt fairly numb and disoriented. He wished he had listened to Rick. Maybe they'd be close to death somewhere on some weird planet. Maybe they'd be being chased by someone or something, being shot at... But at least Rick would be there to defend him. No one was here to help him now.</p><p>"You ignoring us now, Mort?" Ivan breathed, grabbing Morty's shoulder and squeezing.</p><p>Morty let out a soft breath, flinching under the older boy's hand, but still keeping his eyes closed. He just wanted them to leave. They'd already forced him to drink, hit him, kicked him, took his clothes, told him he was about as useful as a piece of shit... Why didn't they just go?</p><p>"You gonna ignore this?" Theo laughed and Morty felt hands on his hips again, grabbing at the material of his underwear - the only article of clothing other than socks he was covered with.</p><p>Morty gasped and his eyes shot open as he tried to shrink away. "St-stop! Th-theo, pl-please..." He slurred, feeling and hearing tears in his voice. He couldn't even reach down to try to stop the older boy. He couldn't thrash or kick or hit. He couldn't fucking move. "P-please don-don't..." Morty stuttered, his voice shaking and teeth chattering from the cold and his fear.</p><p>"What do you think I'm gonna do?" Theo whispered as he slowly pulled the underwear down Morty's thighs.</p><p>Morty struggled with his taped up wrists and ankles. He was secured so firmly to the flag pole. He couldn't move. He let out a soft sob and squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to witness whatever the older boys did to him next.</p><p>"Hmm? Do you think we're gonna do something really fucked up?" Theo breathed, leaning down close to Morty's face as he tugged the undergarment down even more.</p><p>Morty choked out a shaking sob. "Th-theo... Please d-don't.. I'm sor-sr-sorry... W-whatever I d-did..." He stuttered and stumbled over his words. Morty closed his eyes again as tears rolled down his cheeks. Theo was still pulling his underwear down, laughing as he did so. Morty wasn't sure what the older boy's plan was. Maybe it was still just to embarrass him. Maybe it was something more.</p><p>"Do you think we're gonna rape you, Morty?" Theo smirked as he let the underwear remain half-way down the younger boy's thighs and stood back up to his full height. "You think we'll grab your dick or turn you around and shove something up your ass?"</p><p>Morty's lip trembled as tears spilled down his cheeks. "I d-don't know..." He whispered.</p><p>Ivan let out a loud laugh at that point, making Morty flinch and sob even harder. How the hell could they possibly think this was funny? Why would they delight in hurting and scaring him?</p><p>"He does think so!" Ivan laughed. "Look at him! He's fuckin' terrified!"</p><p>Morty squeezed his eyes shut and shrunk down, still crying and breathing shaking breaths. He was pretty sure at this point they were just trying to scare and embarrass him, but how could he know for sure? They taped him up so that he couldn't move and pulled down his underwear. If they wanted to do something, they certainly were in the position to do so.</p><p>"You're so fucking pathetic, Morty." Theo noted. "If a girl won't fuck you, why the hell would we? You seriously think we're into ramming stuff up people's asses? Jesus Christ..."</p><p>Morty inhaled a small breath and flinched when he felt something touch his chest. He smelled something too - something strong... A permanent marker? He blinked his eyes open, looked down, and stuck his lip out in a pout when he realized Theo was writing something on his chest with a sharpie.</p><p>Silently, Morty watched, reading upside down what the other boy was writing. 'Tiny Dick' with an arrow pointing down. Morty felt his shoulders slump.</p><p>Ivan started laughing even more when he saw what his friend wrote. "Oh my god! It is tiny! Like the fuckin' smallest little pencil dick... Probably not even... More like a crayon." He scoffed, staring down between Morty's legs and then bursting into another loud fit of laughter. "And the whole school gets to see it tomorrow morning. Bet you'll piss yourself by then. Good thing we took your pants so they don't get wet." He laughed, walking over and raising the bottle of alcohol up over Morty and spilling what was left of it over the smaller boy's head.</p><p>Morty shivered and shrunk down as the cold liquid dripped down through his hair and over his shoulders, chest, and legs. It smelled so strong. It made him want to throw up.</p><p>"Did you really think we were gonna rape you?" Theo laughed as he leaned down close to Morty's face.</p><p>Morty inhaled a sharp breath and shrunk down. Why wouldn't he think that? Theo was the one who brought it up... While he was pulling down Morty's underwear. He even went into graphic detail. Why wouldn't Morty have been completely fucking terrified by that question?</p><p>"God, that's gross..." Theo frowned. "Funny that you thought we would though... Seriously? You thought we'd want that? You projecting, Morty? I'll bet he is." He looked over toward Ivan, then back at Morty. "You wanted us to fuck you up the ass with something? We still have the bottle..."</p><p>Morty felt his lip trembling. His whole body was, in fact. He wished he could at least reach down and pull his underwear back up. He was very, very aware that it was still most of the way down his thighs. Theo was still talking about raping him. Whether he actually planned to or not remained unclear, but he certainly was talking about it a lot.</p><p>Theo frowned as he stared down between Morty's legs again. "Well, Jessica certainly wouldn't be interested in that tiny thing." He laughed.</p><p>Ivan laughed too. "He like hardly has any hair down there either. It's like he's a little fuckin' kid."</p><p>"That'd make us pedos if we raped him." Theo laughed. "Like he wanted."</p><p>"Yeah, he did probably want it." Ivan laughed. "Not gonna get laid any other way."</p><p>Morty squeezed his eyes shut, trying to make himself less dizzy, and also hoping he'd finally pass out. Maybe he'd actually die from alcohol poisoning and would never have to deal with the rest of this - with someone from school finding him, asking questions, seeing him completely naked...</p><p>"Well, maybe he wants it, but I fuckin' don't. See ya in the morning, dumbfuck." Ivan laughed, tossing the glass bottle to the ground so that it broke at Morty's feet, causing Morty to flinch, gasp, and open his eyes at the sound.</p><p>"Don't worry, kid." Theo smirked. "Half the school has smaller dicks than you. Just the girls, but still... That's half."</p><p>Both of the older boys laughed as they walked off. Morty was glad they were leaving, but he wasn't safe yet. This wasn't over for him.</p><p>Morty frowned and watched through his tears as the other two boys walked away, leaving him all alone, almost completely naked, cold, shivering, drenched in alcohol and taped to the flag pole where everyone would see him the next day, assuming no one in his family would come looking for him first.</p><p>Morty closed his eyes and breathed out a shaky breath. He still felt sick from the alcohol. He felt dizzy and breathless. He hoped no one in his family found him like this. Somehow he'd maybe rather be embarrassed in front of the whole school. He didn't want his family to know what a fucking loser he was. Especially not Rick.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 4</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>"Jesus fucking Christ." Rick grumbled to himself when he checked Morty's vitals on his Morty-tracker. Maybe Morty wanted to believe the senior boys really did want to be friends, but Rick wasn't fucking stupid, so when Morty wasn't home after it got dark, he decided to check in.</p><p>Morty was still at the school according to his Morty-GPS, and his vitals were troubling. The boy's body temperature was a bit low, his heart rate and breathing were slowed. If Rick didn't know any better, he'd assume the kid was drinking... But Morty wouldn't do that...</p><p>Shaking his head slightly to himself, Rick put in the coordinates to the school into his portal gun and shot out a portal. He wasn't sure what Morty was doing, but his vitals didn't look normal, so Rick had to check.</p><p>When he stepped through the portal, Rick couldn't help but to actually gasp a small breath. What he saw before him was not what he expected. He kind of almost thought maybe the older boys would have gotten Morty to drink so they could make fun of him being a stupid drunk - even if doing it at the school would have been the stupidest part of the whole thing.</p><p>That clearly wasn't the case. The older kids weren't here. Morty was... All by himself, seemingly passed out, taped rather thoroughly to the flag pole in front of the school with all of his clothes gone and his underwear pulled down to his knees.</p><p>"Jesus Christ..." Rick breathed, quickly making his way up to his grandson. He smelled very strongly of alcohol, and not just from drinking it. He was all wet, shivering... The alcohol had been poured on him. Rick frowned when he noticed someone had written 'tiny dick' with an arrow pointed down with sharpie on Morty's chest.</p><p>"What kinda fuckin' frat bullshit..." Rick frowned as he looked Morty up and down. He knew these kids were mean to his grandson for no real reason, but this was more than even just run of the mill bullying. This was fucking harsh, definitely illegal... Almost surely something that would even be considered sexual assault - even if it was just what Rick guessed and hoped was the case - an effort to embarrass Morty and not anything more.</p><p>"Morty..." Rick spoke in a low voice as he put his hand on Morty's cheek and narrowed his eyes, trying to judge if Morty was at all conscious.</p><p>The boy's lips were almost turning blue and he shivered, but didn't say anything back, didn't blink or flinch.</p><p>"Hey, Morty..." Rick said again, putting his other hand on Morty's upper arm, wincing at how cold his skin felt. "Wake up... We're getting you outta here, Morty, okay? You've just gotta open your eyes. Look at me."</p><p>Morty groaned softly and turned his head as he shrunk down very slightly and choked out a small sob. The tiny noise and movement, though so small and quick conveyed all sorts of feeling - pain, fear, betrayal, exhaustion. Poor Morty just wanted these stupid fucking kids to accept him. He just wanted friends.</p><p>"God damn it..." Rick breathed, grabbing a pocket knife out of his lab coat and starting to work on cutting through the massive amounts of duct tape securing his grandson to the pole. He pulled up Morty's underwear on his way down to the tape around his ankles, then worked his way up to the tape around his stomach and neck, then finally the stuff wound many times around his wrists behind him.</p><p>Morty immediately started to fall forward once his wrists were free, but Rick caught him and lowered him carefully down to the ground.</p><p>"Morty." Rick spoke again, placing his hand on his grandson's chest. "How much did you drink?" He wasn't sure if his grandson was in real danger of alcohol poisoning. Morty didn't drink like Rick did, or at all really... His tolerance had to be really fucking low.</p><p>Rick frowned as Morty let out a soft, choking sound, then turned his head to the side and grabbed weakly at Rick's hand over his chest. Silent tears streamed down the boy's cheeks as he lightly squeezed Rick's fingers.</p><p>Rick's brow furrowed as he stared worriedly down at his grandson. This looked like some sort of hazing prank - they got Morty to drink, got him really drunk, then when he passed out, they took his clothes, taped him to the flag pole, and wrote on him. They got him drunk fast too - Rick had seen him like three hours ago, and at that point, Morty was completely sober, planning to meet these little pricks.</p><p>It might have been funny if Morty were more their equal, their age, their size, their longtime friend - if Morty would find humor in it too... But that wasn't the case. Morty was tiny, innocent, naive. They did this to be cruel, not as a harmless joke among friends. Morty had tear streaks down his cheeks. He was covered in bruises and had definitely been crying. He wasn't in on this joke. He didn't think it was funny. That much was obvious.</p><p>Rick could picture Morty willingly drinking in order to fit in. Morty was kind of gullible and naive sometimes. He wanted desperately to fit in with other kids... It wasn't far-fetched to assume he'd drink on his own, pass out, and wake up to this...</p><p>But what if that wasn't all that happened? Morty was crying, his body decorated in numerous bruises... His underwear had been pulled down. Did the other boys sexually assault him? Like more than just pulling his clothes off? Did they actually touch him? Hurt him sexually? If they'd do the rest of this, surely they wouldn't stop there... Maybe they did... It made sense - if they did all of this just to be cruel... maybe it wasn't even their original plan, but they decided to go for it when they pulled down Morty's underwear as a joke and Morty freaked out. Maybe they saw how scared he was of that and decided to do it just because it would hurt Morty more than anything else...</p><p>"Fuck..." Rick breathed, taking off his lab coat and wrapping it around Morty as he lifted the boy up into his arms. He knew he should have forced Morty to come with him. He shouldn't have made his grandson learn this lesson the hard way. Morty would have been mad. He would have forever claimed Rick screwed up a chance for him to make friends with the cool kids, but at least none of this would have happened.</p><p>Morty choked out another soft sob as his head lolled to the side in Rick's arms. He was clearly quite intoxicated and was going to take a while to sober up. Hell, he was barely even responsive at this point.</p><p>Hefting Morty up in his arms, Rick put most of Morty's weight on his one arm and took his portal gun in his other hand. It wasn't that hard to do. Morty was so tiny. He barely weighed anything. Just that one small observation made Rick even more angry about this situation. Whether those other kids appreciated Morty as a person or not, it was completely fucking uncalled for to abuse him like this. Morty was so tiny, so innocent. He was pretty much the last person who deserved something like this. Unfortunately, that made him a very common target for bullies.</p><p>With an annoyed exhale, Rick held his portal gun out and aimed it in front of them, shooting out a familiar glowing green portal and stepping through it and into the garage.</p><p>As soon as they were back home, Rick laid Morty down on his work bench and looked him over more now that it was light enough to properly see him. Pulling back his lab coat, Rick scanned the boy's skin. Morty's ribs had faint bruises forming on them, like he'd been punched and/or kicked quite a few times. He had finger-shaped bruises on his arms too, and a darkening mark forming on his cheek under his eye.</p><p>It didn't seem like any bones were broken, but he was still shivering, still wet and sticky with alcohol... Still naked besides the underwear that Rick had had to pull up for him.</p><p>Rick frowned as he stared down a this grandson, picturing in his head what all of this must have looked like. The older boys clearly beat him up at some point. Did they do it while he was already drunk, while he was disoriented and confused? Or did they do that first? Maybe they forced Morty to drink. And at some point they took his clothes. Rick highly doubted Morty gave them up willingly. The poor kid was probably fighting back, maybe crying while they wrestled his clothes off of him... He would have definitely been terrified when they pulled down his underwear, fully exposing him.</p><p>And then what did they do? Was Morty crying just because he was scared? Or because they hurt him in the cruelest way imaginable?</p><p>"Morty..." Rick whispered, putting his hand on Morty's shoulder and shaking him slightly. "Wake up... You gotta talk to me, bud... You can sleep for hours on end after, but I need to know what happened..."</p><p>Morty groaned and reached up toward Rick's hand, pushing it weakly away from his shoulder. "Stop..." He whispered.</p><p>Rick grimaced and drew his hand back. "Morty... It's me..." He reminded the boy, reaching back and taking both of Morty's upper arms in his hands, dragging him up into a sitting position and pulling his lab coat securely around the boy's shoulders.</p><p>Morty blinked tiredly as he looked dizzily around the space, finally focusing on Rick. "R-rick?" Morty slurred, his lower lip trembling as tears filled his eyes.</p><p>"Yep..." Rick frowned. "You gotta tell me what happened. The fuckin' truth. Now."</p><p>Morty swallowed and closed his eyes as he started to fall forward.</p><p>"God damn it..." Rick exhaled, catching Morty. His grandson was pretty significantly drunk. He might not be getting a clear answer out of the kid any time soon. That, or now would be the very best time to get his answers, when Morty wasn't coherent enough to think of lies.</p><p>"Did you drink all that on your own?" Rick asked, choosing to ask yes or no questions rather than open-ended ones to see if Morty would offer up the easy answers.</p><p>Morty shook his head and looked down. "No... Th- he ma-made me..." He breathed, sniffing back tears. "They d-didn't... Y-you were r-right..." Morty stuttered and slurred, making his speech almost incomprehensible. "You were.. They- They didn't wanna be m-my friends... Y-you were right..." Morty sobbed, bringing his hands up to his face and drawing his feet up onto the work bench, curling himself into a small ball and crying loud, heartbroken sobs.</p><p>Rick exhaled and put his hand lightly on Morty's back, holding him close and letting him get out all of his emotions. Of course Rick was right. He knew these stupid little pricks must have wanted something from Morty. They regularly beat him up and teased him. It was a pattern. Morty was heartbreakingly stupid and naive to believe they'd suddenly want to be his friends.</p><p>"I wa-was really scared, Rick..." Morty whimpered as he clung to Rick like a young child.</p><p>Rick nodded and pulled the lab coat closer around Morty's shoulders as the boy continued shivering. Rick let Morty lean into him, putting his arm across Morty's back and holding him closer as his grandson went on. Part of Rick wanted to get mad, to grab Morty by his arms and shake him, to tell him he fucking told him this would happen... But a bigger part of him saw that his grandson was devastated and heartbroken, and wanted to just hug him.</p><p>"Th-they made me drink this awful, bur-brun-burning stuff... I h-hated it... And th-then they t-took my pants and m-my shirt and I th-thought for a second... Y-you know... L-like wh-why wou-would they do that? I th-thought they were gonna do som-something really bad... B-but they didn't. Th-they j-just wanted to embarrass me." Morty guessed.</p><p>Rick nodded silently, glad Morty's inebriated state was helping him be so truthful at the very least.</p><p>"A-and they hit me...and t-tied m- taped me to the f-falt fa flag... And ta-took off m-my underwear..." Morty whimpered, hugging Rick tighter as his sobs increased to the point that Rick could no longer understand what Morty was saying.</p><p>That didn't keep the boy from continuing to talk between his shaking sobs though. "Th-" He gasped, pressing himself securely against Rick. "Pulled... They..." He cried out again, clearly unable to get even half a thought out before breaking down completely.</p><p>"Morty..." Rick rubbed a hand gently over his grandson's back. "It's okay... Slow down. Breathe."</p><p>Morty shook his head and continued crying. "H-he j-just pulled them down..." Morty whimpered. "I wa-wasn't... Rick... I thought..." The boy shook his head and hugged his arms around Rick's stomach, sobbing even louder if that was at all possible.</p><p>"You're alright..." Rick breathed, still rubbing the one hand over Morty's back and pressing the other against the back of his grandson's head, ignoring the strange texture from the alcohol that was starting to dry in his hair. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay, Morty."</p><p>"Rick, I'm sor-sorry..." Morty choked. "Y-you were right... Th-they were so fu-fucking mean..." He cried.</p><p>"Don't be sorry..." Rick frowned, feeling his throat growing tight. "You just wanted friends... It's not your fault these stupid cunts lied to you."</p><p>Morty's sobs slowly started to die down into shaky breaths and sniffs, but he remained close to Rick's chest, holding onto the man with arms wound tightly around his stomach. "Wh-when Th-theo took... p-pulled down..." He hesitated, breathing in another shaky breath. "H-he asked if I th-though th-they were gonna r-rape me..."</p><p>Rick tried to remain calm as he exhaled a slow breath and waited for Morty to continue.</p><p>"I d-did kind of think th-they m-might..." Morty breathed, moving his arms back toward himself, squeezing his hands into tiny fists within the front of Rick's shirt as he hid his face in the man's chest. "Th-theo w-wouldn't stop talking a-about it... They - I think th-they th-though it was fa-funny... Th-that I thought that..." He whispered in a rambling, slurring voice.</p><p>Rick shook his head. "That's not fucking funny..." He disagreed.</p><p>"I d-didn't think so either..." Morty sniffed.</p><p>"So they didn't do that though?" Rick asked, needing to know just how much to fucking hurt these little bastards.</p><p>Morty shook his head. "J-just ma-made me think they might. I think th-that they noticed I wa-was scared when they first took off my pants...a-and they wanted to sc-scare me m-more..."</p><p>Rick shook his head as Morty leaned against him more, hugging his arms around Rick's stomach. Rick hugged him back as he stared silently at the garage wall. That was so fucked up... Those older boys pretty much threatening to rape Morty just to humiliate him. They scared him into believing they might do it and then laughed at him for being upset...</p><p>"They didn't do it, Rick." Morty whispered again, maybe reminding himself more than telling Rick. Maybe he needed to reassure himself that he was okay. That that didn't happen and wasn't going to.</p><p>Rick ran his hand up over Morty's hair, hugging the boy's head close against his chest as Morty's tears dissolved into soft sniffles. Rick didn't often feel guilt, but he did now. He knew these stupid kids didn't really want to be Morty's friends, and while he did give the boy fair warning that something was up, he didn't check in for a while. He should have. He should have kept an eye on the situation the whole time.</p><p>A part of him wanted Morty to learn a hard lesson through this. He wanted the older boys to do something mean and prove Rick right... But not like this. Rick knew they weren't being genuine, and he warned Morty, so he left the situation alone for a while to play out as it would. He wanted Morty to come home angry and humiliated, refusing to tell Rick about the dumb ass girl he liked rejecting him and the popular boys locking him in his locker for an hour or something else harmless but embarrassing.</p><p>Morty was gone for several hours before Rick finally checked in. He had unintentionally given the bullies way more time than he should have. Rick just didn't think they'd actually go this far.</p><p>It wasn't until it got dark that Rick started to really worry, but he was a little worried the whole time. He should have been more worried... But a large part of him expected these kids to do something a lot less extreme, like have Morty ask out Jessica and film the girl rejecting him, post it online, and get a laugh out of it. Rick didn't expect a serious assault. He didn't think the older kids would force Morty to drink hard liquor and rip his clothes off of him. He certainly didn't expect to check in and find Morty naked, passed out, and taped to a pole. It was fucking November too. The poor kid could have realistically frozen to death overnight if no one thought to check on him.</p><p>Rick breathed in a slow, slightly shaky breath as he held Morty in his arms and felt the boy relaxing, maybe starting to fall asleep. Morty didn't deserve anything those fucking kids did to him, and the fact that they both didn't see an issue with what they did was fucking ridiculous. Two different people, two chances for someone to speak up, remind the other that what they were doing was wrong... Neither of them did that.</p><p>"I knew they pr-pob-"Morty laughed a breathless giggle as he closed his eyes and tried again, speaking the word slowly. "Prob-ab-ly didn't want t-to be my friend... I knew that... I j-just hoped..."</p><p>Rick nodded, swallowing. It was actually pretty heartbreaking to have to witness Morty face this level of cruel rejection. Of course, the kid was naive as fuck trying to make friends with the kids who constantly bullied him, but Rick could see how much this all hurt his grandson, and he hated that.</p><p>"There's nothing wrong with you, Morty. You know that right?" Rick frowned.</p><p>Morty shrugged slightly.</p><p>"They're the ones who are fucked up. The world would be much better off without them in it." Rick noted.</p><p>"Yeah." Morty breathed. "I d-don... Kinda don't w-wanna ever see them again..." He whispered, tears shining in his eyes.</p><p>"Alright... I'll tell you what..." Rick exhaled, pulling back slightly and looking down at Morty's face as the boy stared back up at him with wide, tear-brimmed eyes. "Let's get you to sleep for now... You need a fuckin' nap. We'll get you into the shower and clean you up when I get back... Um..." Rick looked around himself, spotting a half-full bottle of water on the other end of the bench. "Drink this." He snatched up the water and handed it to Morty. "Take a nap... Sober up a little... I'll be right back."</p><p>Rick stepped back and looked down at his portal gun, figuring out the right coordinates to take him where he needed to go.</p><p>"Wh-" Morty started as tried to climb forward and started to fall off the work bench.</p><p>"Fuck..." Rick stepped forward and caught him, helping Morty onto the floor. "God damn it, Morty..." He grumbled.</p><p>Morty laughed softly as Rick steadied him on his feet.</p><p>Looking around the garage, Rick spotted his pillow and blanket in the corner - old, tattered bedding he used when he got too drunk to find his bedroom. He put the stuff down and made a little makeshift bed out of it, leading Morty over and kind of tucking him in.</p><p>"Where are you going?" Morty whispered, tilting the bottle up toward his lips and pouring the water about 30% into his mouth and 70% everywhere else.</p><p>Rick rolled his eyes and snatched the bottle out of Morty's hands. He kind of hoped Morty wouldn't ever get drunk in his presence, or that he'd do so while Rick himself was way too drunk to care. Other drunk people were annoying.</p><p>Morty stuck his lower lip out in a pout until Rick put his hand on Morty's back and helped him sit up, tilting the bottle up to his grandson's lips and allowing him a rather generous gulp before twisting the lid back onto the water bottle and putting it up out of Morty's reach.</p><p>"Where're you goin' Rick?" Morty slurred again, his eyelids drooping as he struggled to stay awake.</p><p>Rick forced a small smile. "Gonna go deal with these little snot-nosed punks." He breathed, shooting a portal ahead and exiting the garage.</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>xxxxxx</p><p>chapter 5</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>Blinking and swallowing a dry gulp, Morty brought his hand up to his forehead and let out a pained groan. He stared up at the ceiling - the garage ceiling, then looked down to find he was covered by by Rick's ratty old garage blanket - the one he used when he got so shit-faced that he didn't bother coming inside at night - or in the day - or whenever he happened to get tired enough to actually sleep.</p><p>Morty leaned forward and smelled the blanket, then leaned back and coughed. It smelled so heavily of alcohol - the same kind- no... That wasn't the blanket. That was him. That was Morty's own self. He remembered now. The bullies at school poured alcohol all over him.</p><p>"You awake?" Rick asked as he glanced over toward Morty with a raised eyebrow. "Want some coffee? We can dose it up with creamer and sugar and shit so you can handle it."</p><p>Morty frowned and looked back down at himself. Under the blanket, he was wrapped up in Rick's lab coat. Besides that, he was wearing nothing but underwear.</p><p>Sticking out his lip in a pout, Morty thought back to last night. Theo and Ivan took all of his clothes, pulled his underwear down, and... Morty pulled back Rick's lab coat slightly, noticing 'tiny dick' written on his chest.</p><p>"That really wasn't fair." Rick noted from across the garage, clearly noticing Morty observing the writing on his skin. "I mean, compared to a fucking six foot tall jock prick, yeah... Your dick is small... But you're fuckin' five feet tall. A hundred damn pounds. Proportionally, it's pretty normal. You'd look like a fuckin' freak if you had an elephant dick, right?" Rick laughed.</p><p>Morty couldn't help but to laugh as well, not really expecting that strange degree of support and reassurance from his grandfather. Not after Rick warned him against hanging out with the older boys and Morty stupidly ignored him. Morty was kind of a dick about it too. He wondered if Rick was going to say something shitty soon - make sure Morty remembered that he was a dumbass and that he got what he deserved.</p><p>Swallowing, Morty watched as Rick turned back around and resumed working on whatever he was doing at his work bench. He wondered why Rick wasn't making fun of him right now, gloating, telling Morty he was fucking idiot for trusting that these brute jocks would actually want anything to do with him.</p><p>"R-rick?" Morty spoke in a low, cracking voice, swallowing dryly as Rick remained facing away from him.</p><p>"What?" Rick called back.</p><p>"Did... Um... Did I say like... W-what did I say last night?" Morty wondered with a worried frown.</p><p>Rick shrugged. "Enough." He answered.</p><p>Morty grimaced. He wasn't sure what that meant. Did he tell Rick how heartbroken he was when Theo and Ivan betrayed him? Did Rick think it was ridiculous and stupid that Morty gave a shit what other people thought of him? Was Rick going to make fun of him for this? Gloat? Remind Morty what a naive little fucking idiot he was?</p><p>Did Morty tell Rick he legitimately thought they might rape him when they took his clothes? When they pulled down his underwear? That was so embarrassing. He hoped he didn't admit that fear to Rick. His grandfather would probably think he was so weak and stupid. Rick would have never been dumb and weak enough to get himself into that sort of position - not even when he was Morty's age. He probably would have been one of the cool kids - maybe not threatening to rape smaller kids, but perhaps bullying them. Rick was so fucking assertive and smart. He would have never let bigger kids be mean to him.</p><p>"You don't have to worry about them anymore. They won't be bothering you again." Rick noted after a moment of silence. "If you wanna go shower and get changed into something that isn't my lab coat and your alcohol soaked underwear, we can get going. I've only been waiting like a whole fuckin' day to get-"</p><p>"Wait...W-what do you mean, I don't have to worry about them? Why not?" Morty frowned. Did Rick threaten them? They'd probably be mad if he did. They'd probably hurt Morty again, only warn him to keep quiet about it or else. Morty hoped Rick hadn't made all of this worse unintentionally.</p><p>"They're gone." Rick noted, glancing back with a shrug and a raised eyebrow.</p><p>Morty felt his chest grow cold. Sometimes Rick made people disappear when they were considered too big of a problem... Disappear as in they were dead. Like laser gun to the face dead. Morty hated how Ivan and Theo treated him, but he didn't want them to die for it. Rick knew that right? That he couldn't just kill high school kids who were mean to him...</p><p>"Where are they?" Morty whispered.</p><p>"I sent them to another dimension." Rick answered.</p><p>"Oh..." Morty exhaled. He had thought for a second that maybe Rick killed the older boys, which really would have been taking things way too far. Morty definitely wanted them out of his life, but not like that. "Wh-which dimension?" Morty wondered. Hopefully not one with a different Morty for them to torment.</p><p>Rick smirked. "A fuckin' funny one. Like downright hilarious, Morty. I mean, I almost fuckin' pissed myself laughing after I sent them there."</p><p>Morty felt a smile tugging at his lips. "Like... Somewhere really annoying?" He guessed, picturing in his mind Ivan and Theo tryin to hold onto the planet's plants to stay near the ground in a dimension with hardly any gravity, or dodging bird poop in a dimension where pigeons outnumbered humans a million to one.</p><p>Rick's smile widened on his face. "Yeah. Really, really annoying."</p><p>Morty laughed softly, appreciating Rick's support. Maybe the man wasn't perfect, but he saw these boys were cruel to his grandson and he made them pay for it. "Like... maybe where everything's sticky, or it smells like farts all the time?" Morty guessed. "Or a dimension without much gravity or where it rains pee or pigeon turds?"</p><p>Rick nodded and his eyebrows rose. "Something like that."</p><p>"Like what though? Is it like one of those dimensions where everybody walks backwards or its only daylight for an hour every day? Like something they're gonna have to like take forever to get used to? They'll feel like the odd ones out for once..." Morty grinned.</p><p>"Oh man, Morty..." Rick shook his head. "They're never gonna get used to it... It's like physically impossible. That dimension is like practically incompatible with life."</p><p>"Oh." Morty frowned, feeling himself growing legitimately nervous. What did that mean? 'Incompatible with life...' Like that living there would just be really, really awful? Maybe that wasn't fair... Theo and Ivan were really cruel to him, but did they deserve to suffer forever for it? "Well... are you gonna bring them back later?"</p><p>"Nope." Rick shrugged. "Did you want me to? You miss 'em, Morty?"</p><p>Morty looked down. "No. I mean, I don't miss them, and I don't really want them to come back... Just... Like, what they did was mean, and I don't like them, but you really sent them away forever to somewhere really unpleasant? Did they deserve that?"</p><p>"Yeah." Rick stared across the room at him with a raised eyebrow and a slight frown.</p><p>"So... Where are they?" Morty wondered. "Where did you send them?"</p><p>"Dimension of lava people." Rick answered, letting out a kind of crazy laugh and shaking his head as though completely amused by himself.</p><p>"Lava people?" Morty wondered.</p><p>"Well, yeah. I mean the whole dimension isn't just lava people. That would be insane. The Earth there is Lava-Earth. That's where I sent them. To Lava-Earth. Just like here only all the people are lava people and there's a shit-ton of volcanoes... Like the whole planet is in that stage. Just fuckin' magma and lava all over the place." Rick smirked.</p><p>"Wh-what's that mean?" Morty frowned.</p><p>"Means it's over 2,000 degrees there and they definitely died instantly." Rick shrugged and turned back around to face whatever was on his desk.</p><p>Morty felt his mouth drop open and his eyes widen. "W-what?!" He gasped.</p><p>Rick turned back toward him. His eyebrow was raised. "I killed them." He said very simply. "Well, I didn't. The temperature did. I just physically moved them. The environment did the rest. I wanted to watch, but didn't feel like coming back for my heat-resistant lava suit... But yeah... They're dead. Humans don't thrive in 2,000 degree heat." He laughed again, shrugging and turning back around.</p><p>"Why?" Morty stared. "What the fuck... Rick! W-why would you do that? Did you really? Are you fuckin' serious? Y-you killed them? Like you legit murdered my f-fucking classmates!? Y-you can't keep doin' that, Rick! Did you really?"</p><p>"Yeah." Rick stared. "I did. They deserved it."</p><p>"N-no they didn't, Rick! Oh my god!" Morty gasped.</p><p>"Yes, they did." Rick insisted. "They pretended to be your friend so they could hurt you, Morty. They made you think they were gonna rape you and they thought it was funny that you were scared. Man, fuck these guys. I'd kill 'em again if I could. I mean, I'm honestly tempted to get down my time-travel stuff, and go back just to fucking kill them over again in a more painful way."</p><p>"Well..." Morty hesitated. So he did tell Rick a lot last night. Rick knew Morty's bullies kind of threatened to rape him, and that he was completely terrified by it. Morty never would have told him that if he had been sober. It was embarrassing. Morty probably wouldn't have told Rick any of this if he had been sober. He'd have come home, hidden the bruises as best as he could, and pretended it didn't happen.</p><p>Rick shrugged and stood up. "You should go take a shower and get all that alcohol and sharpie off of you. We got shit to do today. You already missed the first half of school, like it even matters... So we might as well do my thing. I've only been waiting a whole damn day."</p><p>Morty swallowed and looked down at himself again. He really did need a shower... He looked back up. "You like, really honestly legit killed them?" He asked again.</p><p>"Yup. It's done. Couldn't take it back if I wanted to, and I don't want to. Go get ready so we can harvest those rejuviberries. I've put if off more than an entire day now and it's kind of a time-sensitive thing." Rick frowned.</p><p>Morty nodded. "Okay..." He agreed as the initial shock of Rick's confession started to wear off pretty quickly. Maybe he wasn't that upset that Rick killed his bullies. Rick had killed people before. This wasn't new... And they really did make him feel awful, made him cry... a lot more than just this once too. Morty didn't feel he was in any position to decide that anyone deserved actual death, but out of all the people he knew in his whole life, Theo and Ivan had tormented him and made him feel like shit quite a bit.</p><p>Morty stood up and headed toward the door. Rick made the decision for him, so he supposed he didn't have to feel guilty about it at least. Morty didn't think he would have ever given them the death sentence... But Rick did... They wouldn't be bothering him anymore, and Morty didn't even have to do anything. Rick solved it for him... In a rather blunt, brutal way... but it was solved.</p><p>"I get it, Morty." Rick spoke as Morty headed toward the door.</p><p>Morty paused in the doorway and stared back at his grandfather, not expecting any serious conversation to come from this. He actually expected to be talked down to and made fun of more than anything. It was surprising that Rick hadn't told Morty he was a dumb naive idiot yet.</p><p>"You want to be accepted. I get it. You wanted to believe they meant well, so you lied to yourself and gave them your trust." Rick explained. "You knew better. We both know that. You can be naive sometimes, but you're not like full-stupid. You knew better. You just hoped they changed. You wanted them to be genuine. You wanted to fit in."</p><p>Morty swallowed and continued staring. Was this where Rick was going to turn his speech around and tell Morty he was a naive dipshit and that this was most, if not entirely his own damn fault? Rick told him not to trust them. Rick saw this shit coming as well as Morty did. He just wasn't dumb enough to ignore his common sense like Morty was.</p><p>"Don't beat yourself up over those pricks... But learn from it. Okay? You messed up, but it's their fault they chose to be assholes. None of it's your fault, but remember this. Learn from it." Rick stared at him. "If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. If someone proves they're a bastard, don't let them tell you they aren't. Watch what people do, not what they say. You knew these pricks weren't ever going to change. You believed their words instead of their actions."</p><p>Morty quickly nodded.</p><p>"Alright. Go get ready to go." Rick waved and turned back around.</p><p>Morty swallowed nervously and made his way up to the bathroom, closing the door, discarding what little clothing he had on, and stepping into the shower. The warm water felt really good, and he kind of wanted to just stand in there for a while, but he recognized that Rick had been waiting for him for quite a while now. He owed it to his grandfather to be quick so they could go harvest those berries he couldn't stop talking about.</p><p>Morty scrubbed and scrubbed, probably cleaning himself better than he had in years to wash away the alcohol, dirt, and marker that clung to his skin. He was able to get most of the sharpie off of him, but it could still be read with a squint. He supposed it didn't matter much if his chest still had the faded, offensive, degrading message. No one was going to see it.</p><p>He stepped out of the shower, walked to his room, and put on clean underwear and socks, a t-shirt and pants. No one could read the sharpie now, as it was covered up. He'd scrub it more later.</p><p>Besides for some visible bruises on his arms and one on his face, Morty looked pretty normal. If he and Rick played their cards right, Morty might be able to keep all of this from his parents. They didn't seem to mind so much anymore when Rick kept Morty out of the house for days on-end. Maybe he could encourage Rick to take him somewhere tomorrow too, and the next day. He could just do that instead of school, like Rick always wanted. It wasn't like Morty learned much in school anyway.</p><p>Morty headed back to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and took a long drink out of the sink, then made his way back down to the garage.</p><p>"Ready?" Rick smiled as he looked up from his work bench.</p><p>Morty nodded, climbing into the space car next to Rick and fastening his seat belt. "Thanks, Rick." Morty whispered as Rick settled in next to him.</p><p>Rick nodded slightly toward him and offered a small half-smile.</p><p>"I appreciate that you stood up for me, and that you're not being mean or gloating... I know you said-" Morty started.</p><p>"No. It's fine. Don't worry about it. Let's go get those fuckin' rejuviberries!" Rick smirked.</p><p>"Okay." Morty breathed, smiling as well. He was happy Rick didn't want to linger on this topic either. It felt kind of good to just forget about it. It was over. They could move on to the next thing, get back to business as usual.</p><p>"So these berries.. What are they? What do they do?" Morty wondered.</p><p>"Sober up drunk and drugged people. Would'a worked wonders last night." Rick noted.</p><p>"We can use them on you." Morty suggested.</p><p>Rick glared at him. "You better fucking not."</p><p>Morty smiled as Rick drove the space car out of the garage and up into the sky. Strangely, he felt very comfortable, very safe when he was with Rick. Rick nearly got him killed so often, but Morty knew in his heart that the man would always bring him back home. Rick wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. He was safer in space, on planets full of wild monsters, than he was at his own school. Thanks to Rick...</p><p>It had been a huge mistake to trust Theo and Ivan... Rick could have been a bastard about it, but he chose not to. Maybe he really was only trying to help when he warned Morty before. Morty had almost seen Rick as one of them - one of the bullies... Telling Morty there was no way he was cool enough, no way he was good enough... But that wasn't what Rick was saying. He wasn't saying Morty wasn't good enough to be friends with the cool kids. He was warning Morty that the cool kids weren't good enough to be friends with him, that they were awful bullies incapable of change. That they were the problem. Morty wasn't.</p><p>Maybe Rick wouldn't have been a bully in high school after all... Or maybe he'd have kind of bullied the bullies. Rick was smart. He'd have been too intelligent to waste his efforts being mean to someone small and harmless. At least, he wouldn't have taken it as far as Ivan and Theo did - not even close.</p><p>Morty looked over at his grandfather with a smile. Morty didn't have friends his own age. Maybe he never would... But he did have Rick, who made fun of him for small things, but was fully supportive when it mattered. Rick didn't make light of any of this. He could have, but he didn't. He didn't make Morty feel stupid or weak for fearing that the older boys might do more than they did. He didn't laugh at the sharpie message scrawled on Morty's chest. Rick didn't think any of it was funny, and made that very clear. He even went so far as to kill the bullies.</p><p>That might not have been the exact right thing to do... Morty still wasn't sure on that. But it did solve his problem. They weren't ever going to hurt him or make fun of him ever again. They were gone. Thanks to Rick.</p><p>He had Rick's support when he needed it most, and it was a fierce, loyal support. Morty had no friends at school, but he did have his grandfather. Maybe he didn't need any more than that. Rick supported him and protected him like no one else ever could or would, even if it verged on scary sometimes...</p><p>In a strange way, Rick was his best friend, his only friend. Morty was okay with that.</p><p>xxxxxx</p><p>THE END</p><p>xxxxxx</p>
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